Response time of broiler chickens to cimaterol: meat tenderness, muscle composition fiber size, and carcass characteristics.

The response time to cimaterol (CIM), a beta-adrenergic agonist, by broiler chickens for carcass characteristics, muscle composition, muscle fiber size, catheptic enzyme activity, and tenderness was determined. Two trials were conducted in which chickens were fed a control diet (CON) containing 0 ppm of CIM or a diet containing 1 ppm of CIM. Trial 1 consisted of 55, 31-d-old broiler chickens individually fed for up to 48 h. At 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 h, five CON and five CIM-fed chickens were killed. Trial 2 consisted of 160, 33-d-old broiler chickens group-fed for up to 14 d. At 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 d, 10 CON and 10 CIM-fed chickens were killed. The breast muscle (BM) and leg muscle (LM) weight, cathepsin B and L activities, DNA, RNA, and protein concentration, and BM shear force value (SFV) were measured in both trials. Thigh muscle (TM) SFV were measured in Trial 2 only. Fiber size of BM was measured (five birds per treatment) at d 2, 6, 10, and 14. In Trial 1, BM weight and SFV were lower in CIM-fed birds at 6 h (P less than .05). In Trial 2 BM SFV were higher at d 8 (P = .06) and d 10 (P less than .05) in CIM-fed chickens. The SFV of CIM-fed chickens were higher at d 4, 8, 10, 12, and 14 (P less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The Content of β-endorphin-like Immunoreactivity in Porcine Corpus Luteum and the Potential Roles of Progesterone, Oxytocin and Prolactin in the Regulation of β-endorphin Release from Luteal Cells in vitro

The amount of β‐endorphin‐like immunoreactivity (β‐END‐LI) in porcine corpora lutea from several stages of the oestrous cycle and the effects of progesterone, oxytocin, and prolactin on β‐END‐LI secretion in vitro by luteal cells were studied. Porcine corpora lutea obtained on days 1–5, 6–10, 11–13, 14–18, and 19–21 of the cycle were used to prepare extracts for β‐END‐LI determination. Additionally, corpora lutea from days 11–13 and 14–18 were enzymatically dissociated and isolated luteal cells were used for further study of β‐endorphin secretion in vitro. Cells were cultured in serum‐free defined M 199 medium (10⁶ cells/ml) at 37°C under 5% CO₂ in air, for 12 h. The influences of the following factors on β‐END‐LI secretion by luteal cells were tested: progesterone (10^–9, 10^–7 and 10^–5M ), oxytocin (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 ng/ml), and prolactin (0.1, 1, 10 and 100 ng/ml). The β‐END‐LI contents in extracts and media were measured by radioimmunoassay. The tissue concentration of β‐END‐LI was lowest on days 1–5 of the cycle (0.35 ± 0.03 ng/g wet tissue). Subsequently, it constantly increased to the highest value on days 14–18 (16.58 ± 0.52 ng/g wet tissue) and on days 19–21 it declined (11.10 ± 0.52 ng/g wet tissue). Progesterone at a low dose (10^–9 M ) resulted in significant (p < 0.05) increases and decreases in β‐END‐LI secretion by luteal cells from days 11–13 and 14–18, respectively. Higher doses of progesterone (10^–7 and 10^–5 M ) had no effect on β‐END‐LI release, compared with the control group. All dose‐levels of oxytocin used decreased β‐END‐LI secretion by luteal cells on days 11–13 and 14–18 of the cycle. Prolactin at doses of 0.1 and 1 ng/ml on days 11–13, and all doses tested on days 14–18 resulted in decreases in β‐END‐LI release from luteal cells. These results document evident changes in β‐END‐LI content in the pig corpus luteum during its development and indicate the potential roles of progesterone, oxytocin, and prolactin in luteal cell secretion of β‐END‐LI.     

Iron and iron-binding capacity in the serum of clinically healthy horses

Serum iron concentration and iron-binding capacity were determined in 34 respectively 35 clinically healthy horses of different sex, with the age of 3 to 21 years. In the Warm blooded horse, the Half bred, the Haflinger horse, the Heavy horse and the Arabian Haflinger the mean serum iron concentration amounted to 253 +/- 66 micrograms/dl, 202 +/- 87 micrograms/dl, 166 +/- 67 micrograms/dl, 183 micrograms/dl and 366 micrograms/dl, while the iron-binding capacity in the Warm blooded horse, the Half bred, the Haflinger horse, the Thoroughbred, the Heavy horse and the Arabian Haflinger ran up to 427 +/- 55 micrograms/dl, 530 +/- 162 micrograms/dl, 422 +/- 63 micrograms/dl, 447 micrograms/dl, 467 micrograms/dl and 394 micrograms/dl. Regarding serum iron concentration no age or sex differences were ascertained, whereas they were obvious when observing the iron-binding capacity. Diurnal variations in serum iron concentration are pointed out. The quotient of the two examined parameters showed race-related differences. The results are presented in tables.     

A test for interaction between brown trout (Salmo trutta) and inanga (Galaxias maculatus) in an artificial stream

Abstract –  The interaction between brown trout ( Salmo trutta ; fork length (FL) range 255–390 mm) and inanga ( Galaxias maculatus ; FL range 55–115 mm) was tested during summer through autumn in an artificial stream consisting of a single run-riffle-pool sequence with a natural food supply. Each experimental trial lasted for 15 days, and consisted of two brown trout and 50 inanga collected fresh from a nearby stream, with each species given prior residence in four replicate tests, totalling eight trials in all. In addition, two control trials (each 10 days), with 50 inanga in each, were run. Brown trout almost exclusively occupied the pool, whereas inanga occupied all habitat types, although in different proportions, when tested with and without brown trout. The proportion of inanga in the pool was appreciably lower in the experimental trials with brown trout than in the control trials with no brown trout; prior residence had no significant effect on inanga habitat use. Mortality of inanga attributable to predation by brown trout ranged from 0 to 40% with a mean of 14.5 ± 4.7%. The results suggest that habitat use and survival of inanga populations in small streams can be adversely affected by brown trout.     

The effects of straw disposal and depth of cultivation on the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of winter wheat on a clay and a silt soil

Abstract. Experiments were conducted for one year on two different soil types. On a clay soil straw was either (a) burnt, (b) baled leaving the stubble, or (c) chopped and spread. The soil was tine cultivated to depths of 5, 10 or 15 cm or ploughed to 20 or 30 cm before winter wheat was sown conventionally. In addition, a direct-drilled crop was sown after each straw treatment. On a silt loam soil the direct-drilled, tine cultivated to 15 cm and ploughed to 30 cm treatments following burning or chopping and spreading straw were repeated.
Tine cultivation incorporated less straw than ploughing, decreased plant establishment and early growth but did not decrease yield. Direct-drilling through chopped straw decreased yield on the silt loam but not on the clay soil. Short straw (< 5 cm) was easier to incorporate than longer straw. Ploughing was the most efficient method of straw incorporation because it inverts soil. Early effects on crop growth and nutrient uptake following straw incorporation were transient and associated with large amounts of straw in the seeded layer of soil.     

Effect of a new pelleting process on the level of contamination of poultry mash by Escherichia coli and Salmonella

The efficacy of a new pelleting process in eliminating naturally occurring Escherichia coli and salmonella from poultry mash was assessed by comparing the microbial load in raw and processed mash. Instead of using steam produced in a boiler, the new process conditioned mash in an Original Vertical Conditioner with steam and other hot gases generated by direct combustion in a Vaporator. E. coli was isolated from 72-100% of samples of raw mash in all trials, and the mean number of colony-forming units of E. coli/g of samples was 6.8 +/- 4.0 X 10(4). Salmonellae (S. senftenberg, S. bredeney, and S. mbandaka) were isolated from 5-10% of samples of raw mash utilized in three of the seven trials. Within limitations of the sampling and analytical tests utilized, the new pelleting process eliminated salmonella from all mash in which the organism was known to be present but eliminated E. coli in only three trials. The process appeared to be 100% effective against both organisms when mash entering the pellet mill from the conditioner had a temperature of 85.7 C and a moisture content of 14.5% and had been retained and treated with steam and hot gases for 4.1 minutes.     

Pharmacologic effects and detection methods of methylated analogs of fentanyl in horses

Pharmacologic effects of alpha-methylfentanyl and 3-methylfentanyl, analogs of fentanyl, were investigated in mares. The ability of an 125I-labeled fentanyl radioimmunoassay (125I-RIA) to detect these methylated fentanyl analogs in individual and pooled urine samples from horses was evaluated. Also, the ability of 7 fentanyl antibodies to react with fentanyl and fentanyl derivatives (sufentanil, alfentanil, and carfentanil) was investigated. Mares were studied in a locomotor test to determine the amount of stimulation methylated fentanyl analogs might induce. Two mares each were given alpha-methylfentanyl at 1, 2, 4, 8, or 13 micrograms/kg of body weight, IV, or 3-methylfentanyl at 0.4, 0.7, or 1 microgram/kg IV. The cross-reactivity of sufentanil, alfentanil, carfentanil, alpha-methylfentanyl, and 3-methylfentanyl with 7 fentanyl antibodies was studied, using the 125I-RIA. All fentanyl analogs, with the exception of alfentanil, cross-reacted well with a C1 antibody raised to fentanyl. Less satisfactory cross-reactivity was determined with 6 other antibodies raised to fentanyl derivatives. When the C1 antibody was combined with an iodinated analog to fentanyl, good detectability of alpha-methylfentanyl and 3-methylfentanyl, in terms of fentanyl equivalents, was obtained from urine samples of dosed mares. The ability of the 125I-RIA to detect methylated fentanyl analogs in forensic urine samples pooled in groups of up to 20 samples was evaluated. When these methylated analogs were administered to mares in doses that induced measurable locomotor stimulation, the analog's presence was readily detected in individual or pooled samples.     

Infectious diseases of New-World camelids (NWC)

Although there are notable infectious conditions that are capable of producing clinical disease in the NWC, overall, these species are quite healthy. Of the bacterial diseases, enterotoxemia caused by Clostridium perfringens types C and D would be deemed the most significant in North America, while type A also would be regarded as important in South America. Other important bacterial infections of potential concern are tuberculosis, Johne's disease, anthrax, malignant edema, actinomycosis, tetanus, and the South American condition referred to as alpaca fever, which, to date, has not been observed in North America. Fungal infections include classical ringworm, principally caused by Trichophyton spp., and the cases of coccidioidomycosis that are associated with the arid desert lands of the southwestern United States. Most notable of naturally occurring viral infections in the NWC would be rabies, ecthyma, and a recently described blindness neuropathy that has been associated with the equine herpesvirus I. NWC can be infected experimentally with agents causing hoof-and-mouth disease and vesicular stomatitis, but naturally occurring cases do not seem to occur. Serological evidence of exposure to many viral agents, including blue tongue, parainfluenza 3, bovine respiratory syncytial virus, bovine herpesvirus I, bovine viral diarrhea, influenza A, and rotavirus, has been demonstrated; however, no clinical disease associated with these agents, as yet, is apparent.     

Phospholipid content of subcellular structures in skeletal muscles after halothane loading in Landrace swine in relation to mating variants and genotype

Membraneous phospholipids of subcellular structures were determined from the musculature of German Landrace pigs of the GDR, following exposure to halothane. Mating variants A (H+ male X H+ female), B (H+ male X H- female), and C (H- male X H+ female) were used for positive responders (MHS), while variants B, C, and D (H- male X H- female) were used for negative responders (MHN). Four phospholipid fractions were recorded from the muscle samples for mitochondria and microsomes (according to SR section). Differences between the MHS and MHN groups for the above fractions and without consideration of mating variants and genotype were not observed, although unambiguous responses were exhibited by all animals, either positive or negative to halothan. Significant differences with regard to the above phospholipid fractions were recordable only for variant A (MHS group) as compared to D (MHN), in other words, for the homozygous genotypes, once the above results had been rearranged within MHS and MHN along with different mating variants and genotypes. However, no unambiguous results were obtainable for the heterozygous genotypes of mating variants B and C. Possible underlying reasons are discussed in some detail. The results obtained from mating variants A and D are likely to confirm earlier findings and seem to suggest that the sarcoplasmic reticulum is the primary site of origin of susceptibility to halothane or malignant hyperthermia.